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29 April 2014

Five years ago, having learned that 'April is National Autism Awareness Month', I posted on
Chess and Autism.
I was reminded of that post earlier this year in an article on Chessbase.com,
VG Interview with Magnus Carlsen,
which contained a relevant paragraph.

9 About the rumors

Many years ago someone actually asked me if I suffered from autism. I thought the question was stupid, so I replied "well, isn't that obvious?" That was silly – I'm obviously not suffering from autism. Later I realised that not everyone shares that view, and I probably shouldn't have made that thoughtless remark. I feel I'm miles away from anyone with autism. I consider myself to have normal social skills and to be functioning normally.

This was followed by a brief mention of IQ and the comment,

Another word associated with you on Google is "girlfriend".

As for 'word associated with you on Google', this might mean the dropdown list that Google suggests when you start typing a query. It might also mean the following suggestions appended to the results for 'magnus carlsen'.

It's curious that the search for 'magnus carlsen autism' has as the first result the 'VG Interview' mentioned above, but the second and third results -- from cbsnews.com and wikipedia.org -- don't include the word 'autism' in any of its forms. Where do these 'rumors' get started? Is Google inventing associations in response to a frequent query?

28 April 2014

In last week's
Monday, Monday
post, I decided to spend some time updating my page on Kasparov's Tournament, Match, and Exhibition Record (TMER), but first there's more important business calling.
Most chess fans who follow international chess are aware that 2014 is a FIDE election year. I'm not sure on what date the balloting is scheduled, but it will occur during the forthcoming Tromso Olympiad, which according to the
FIDE Calendar : World Events
will take place during the first half of August.

In the previous election -- 2010 Ilyumzhinov vs. Karpov -- I announced that I was firmly straddling the fence in
Three Elections
and
Election Links:-

I don't have a personal preference between Karpov and Ilyumzhinov. Both candidates have too many skeletons in the closet.

Kasparov is weighted down by fewer skeletons than Karpov, but he is an unabashed elitist and has failed in all previous attempts to influence a political process. He has never learned the art of compromise; either you are with him or you are against him and there is no middle ground. I last criticized his approach earlier this year in
FIDE Electioneering.

As for Ilyumzhinov, his record is shady beyond redemption; see
Secrets of Kirsan
for more about his career. He first became FIDE President in an unusual election in 1995, and has held sway in FIDE for 19 years. He has a number of successes to his credit, but he also has many failures, particularly in commercial endeavors where FIDE is badly lagging other major sports.

For that reason, it's time for a change. I'm not sure Kasparov can do a better job, but I would like to see him given four years to try. If he's not up to the challenge, other candidates will surely step forward in 2018.

27 April 2014

If the only unusual aspect of the item pictured below was the signature itself, I wouldn't use it, but the item tells a story about Fischer. It was titled 'Chess Champion BOBBY FISCHER - Autograph Letter Signed' and sold for US $850.00, Buy-It-Now.

The description added,

8½" x 11" autograph letter signed on the bottom of a collector’s letter to him requesting a photograph, February 21, 1962.

The full request in the letter said,

As a great admirer of your superb talents in the field of chess, I would appreciate a momento in the form of a personal note signed, and if possible, an accompanying photograph.

Fischer replied,

Thanks for your kind letter. Since I wish you to remain an admirer I won't send you my picture.

Was the 18-year-old Fischer not as sure of his looks as he was of his chess?

24 April 2014

The piece I featured in
Chess Comics No.5: Mad About Chess?
wasn't the only chess related drawing in Mad Magazine, September 1958.
One of the four articles in the 'Don Martin Department' was 'The Chess Game' (p.23). Rather than copy the entire page, I split it into frames to create an animated GIF.

I searched the TWIC PGN database for Kasparov games played since the last update, and found about 150 games. I also have a list of corrections++ to the published file that needs addressing. More to follow...

20 April 2014

Today would normally see a post on
Top eBay Chess Items by Price,
but having just returned from vacation, I don't have the time. Besides that, it's Easter Sunday, so the following postcard, also seen on eBay, is appropriate.

The title was 'Easter Greetings Chicks Playing Chess on Egg Shells Antique Postcard', which was also the only useful information in the description. The card sold for US $63.61 after eight bids, which must be high for a postcard and a record for a card showing a chessboard with 5 x 17 squares.

As for date and origin, the back said 'Printed in Germany' and carried an address in Warren, Rhode Island. The stamp area said, 'Domestic one cent, Foreign two cents', which was the rate at the beginning of the 1900s.

11 April 2014

Jail Chess Cup - Russian Chess Federation Online Ad (1:16)  'The headline in Russian has a play on words: the first meaning is 'outplay your life' and at the same time it means 'change your life'.'

The description explained,

The Russian Chess Federation, with the support of Anatoly Karpov and the Federal Penitentiary Service of Ryazan have come out in support of prisoners already on the road to rehabilitation and hosted a chess tournament between several prisons. The finalists have been given a chance for early release. [more++]

10 April 2014

Last month, in
GM Capital's Patrick Wolff,
I posted about a Barron's article on a former U.S. champion who had moved to the investment world. Later in the month I discovered another Barron's article (*) about a basketball star who had taken up chess:
Carmelo Anthony: Chess King;
'While Contemplating His Future, Knicks Star Reveals Affinity for Game'.

Anthony recently found the courage to admit, 'I'm a chess player'.

Asked about his chess-playing, Anthony said he'd spent considerable time reading about the game in hopes of being able to teach himself how to play. He said he has most frequently found himself locked in competition against family friends at off-season dinner parties.

"Just over the last couple years," said the 29-year-old forward, who posted an Instagram photo of famous chess player Bobby Fischer earlier in the month. "It's something I always wanted to do, but after a while I figured it was so complicated that I'd never be able figure it out. I still don't have it down pat to where I'm some expert. But I've figured out the basics to where it's something that I'll have for life."

What sets Anthony apart is the age at which he chose to pick up the game. According to figures compiled by the United States Chess Federation [USCF], the average player is between 9 and 10 years old when he or she joins the organization.

While I'm not sure about the comment that the 'average player is between 9 and 10 years old when he or she joins', I am sure that sports stars who play chess are not so unusual.
A few years ago I put together an image gallery about a football star,
Chess and Shaun Alexander at Madrona Elementary School, Seattle
[about.com -> archive.org]. And let's not forget the Klitschko brothers.

(*) This Barrons.com article redirects to WSJ.com; both publications belong to the same group.

There are several manuscripts related to chess theory that are worth reviewing.

Think Like a Grandmaster, Kotov

Judgment and Planning in Chess, Euwe

Chess Psychology, Krogius [aka 'Psychology in Chess']

Lasker's Manual of Chess, Em.Lasker

Chess: The Mechanics of the Mind, Pfleger and Treppner

Psychology of Chess, Hartston and Wason

How Chessmasters Think, Schmidt

Winning Chess, Chernev and Reinfeld

Since I already had five of those titles, I set out to see if I could find the other three. Two of them were available in digital format and the third is available online for free and offline for a price:
W. R. Hartston & P. C. Wason - The Psychology of Chess
(Scribd.com). I've always been wary of this site, so I'll leave it alone for now.

Back to 'Three Studies', a look at Robert Ferguson's Educational Benefits of Chess, the author wrote, 'Lasker presented a lucid description of the three basic methods of chess thinking in Lasker’s Manual of Chess.' Ferguson explained the three methods in his section 'Definition of Terms':-

Positional Thinking. Lasker (1947) portrayed the positional thinker as one who has the general plan to build a strong and familiar position. In the opening of the game, the positional thinker avoids violent moves, aims for small advantages, accumulates them, and, after attaining these, searches for a solid attack. The positional player tends to be more defensive. He conceives chess as a scientific discipline with definite guiding principles.

Tactical Thinking. Lasker (1947) wrote that in chess the tactical thinker is a combinational thinker, combining the force of his chessmen (pieces) to create advantages; he is an adventurer, who feels comfortable being the aggressor. This type of thinker thinks forward; he or she starts from a given position and tries to find the forceful moves. The tactical thinker’s conceptual ability is especially evident in the middle segment of the game, when the pieces create a great variety of possible moves. Tactical thinkers are reflective thinkers. The chess position creates the problem, the selection of move creates the observational mode of thought, and the chosen move is the solution. Tactical thinkers have highly developed powers of creative imagination and the ability of far reaching concrete calculation.

Eclectic Thinking. Lasker (1947) defined this method of thinking in chess as a harmonic union of both the positional thinker and the tactical thinker. Krogius uses the term “universal” to describe the eclectic thinker (Krogius, 1972, p. 13).

The split into positional and tactical thinking shouldn't raise too many eyebrows, but 'eclectic thinking' is a strange term; ditto for 'reflective thinking' which is defined separately. Ferguson had one other comment about Lasker (p.64), an observation he repeated later (p.156).

Krogius, in his book Chess Psychology, indicated that Lasker’s classification of styles of thinking needs more investigation (p. 15). According to Krogius, more considerations are needed regarding the qualities of chess thinking and the structure of the thought process in the selection of a move.

All of this thinking about thinking in chess is making my mind spin. I think I'll go play for a while.

06 April 2014

Have you ever looked for something that you just had, like a pencil, only to find that it was still in your hand? That's how I felt after the previous post,
'Chess in School' : Why?
I ended it saying:-

I'm ready to tackle the Ferguson++ material again. I expect him, as well as the other proponents of chess education, to explain why chess belongs in school, competing for the same limited resources that we use to teach our children what we teach them.

The second PDF is Educational Benefits of Chess Summary Based on Research and Articles, 179 pages, also undated, but the mention of 'current world champion Kramnik' indicates the early 2000s.

When I sat down to study it, I realized that it was exactly what I was looking for. It describes three studies ('two research projects and one pilot study') that Ferguson conducted into -- drum roll -- the educational benefits of chess. The 179 pages of academic prose lack a table of contents and are so daunting that I used one of my favorite techniques when tackling new material: I analyzed the structure of the document. To aid anyone else who might be interested in studying the document, I've attached that analysis to the end of this post. The three studies that were Ferguson's own research are reviewed in chapter four.

Ferguson summarized the document at the end of the first chapter (p.21).

Chapter one has introduced the problem, the purpose of the research, the importance of the study, and provided some of the current thinking on chess in education. The following chapter will present a review of related literature. The third chapter will offer methodology, including research design, tests, classroom procedures, course objectives, lesson plans, curricula, data collection, and limitations. In chapter four, I will submit the findings and interpret them. Finally, in the fifth chapter, I will briefly review the Bradford Area School District chess studies, share conclusions, and make recommendations.

Although the document is about the benefits of chess in education, there is much that is pure chess. 'Basic Chess Skills' (p.70) lists over 30 chess concepts that students were expected to grasp, starting with piece movement.
'Related Literature' includes a paragraph on chess titles that cover the subject (p.24).

There are several manuscripts related to chess theory that are worth reviewing. In the volume Think Like a Grandmaster, by Kotov, the complex thinking that takes place in a grandmaster’s mind is described. Euwe’s book, Judgment and Planning in Chess, demonstrates the way to improvement by showing the reader how to think, how to judge a position, and how to make a plan. In Chess Psychology, by Nikolai Krogius, various thinking methods in chess were discussed. Dr. Emanuel Lasker presented a lucid description of the three basic methods of chess thinking in Lasker’s Manual of Chess. Pfleger and Treppner’s Chess: The Mechanics of the Mind pinpoints key situations where the amateur’s thought processes are inferior and seeks to help him overcome specific mental barriers. The Psychology of Chess by Hartston and Wason explore essential thought patterns of masters. In How Chessmasters Think, Paul Schmidt demonstrates the thought processes a chessmaster uses to analyze the strengths and weaknesses in a position and how he decides upon a course of action. Chernev and Reinfeld’s book, Winning Chess, is a hands-on, learn-by-doing book that teaches tactical thinking skills.

One section that is missing from the PDF is a list of references, of which there are many. Perhaps I'll find one as I continue to study this most important document.

***

Educational Benefits of Chess Summary Based on Research and Articles by Dr. Robert Ferguson; structure of contents.

001 Chapter I. The Problem

001 Introduction
001 Background of the Program
006 Statement of the Problem
006 Purpose of the Studies
007 Importance of the Studies
009 Questions to be Answered
012 Statement of Hypotheses
013 Postulates
014 Delineation of the Research Problem
015 Scope and Delimitations of the Studies
017 Definition of Terms
021 Summary and What is to Follow

023 Chapter II. Review of Related Literature

023 Lists the sources searched.
025 Offers general background information along with a discussion of historical and philosophical development of reflective thinking.
033 Presents research related to my studies.
057 Reviews literature on the formal instruments used in these studies.
062 Summarizes chapter and offers a cursory glance at this book’s intent.

065 Chapter III. Methodology or Procedures

065 Reviews the research design for each of the three studies.
066 Explains the selection of the subjects in the investigations.
067 Discusses the instruments used in each of the studies.
068 Presents classroom procedures, including daily lessons, course objectives, methods, materials, and evaluation procedures.
097 Deals with data collection.
099 Examines the statistical tests and procedures employed to analyze the data collected.
100 Lists limitations for each of the three studies.
102 Summarizes the contents of the third chapter.

104 Chapter IV. Findings

To reduce confusion, I am including a discussion section specific to the experiment being reviewed at the end of the division for each of the studies.
104 Reviews the federally funded ESEA Title IV-C project (Study I).
136 Examines the Tri-State Area School Study Council pilot study (Study II).
141 Analyzes the research sponsored by the USA Junior Chess Olympics.
150 Summarizes the findings of all three studies and highlights my interpretation of the results

03 April 2014

Prof. Elo's history-making rating list calls forth our display of chess talent from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Above, left to right: [Lasker, ...] Now they, too, are USCF-rated!

Chess Review

The new Rosenwald set (compare with one on March cover last year) merits a plug for Sidney Lachs, West Hollywood, Florida, who suggested the idea. The men are:

White (bulbs): Pawns, colorful fuses; Knights, two bulbs; Rooks, Bishops and King, standard bulbs; Queen, trick bulb, available at most magic stores and wired with battery and inner bulb by Rosenwald so, when one pushes "her" button, she lights up! This is no joke, says Rosenwald.

All bases are standard porcelain receptacles. Board is 2 1/2 inch squares cut from bright yellow and white vinyl tiles.
Total cost: $16.28, state and federal tax incl. Set designed and executed by Robert L. Rosenwald.

I didn't understand the explanation of the White Queen, so I looked further: see, for example,
Magic Light Bulb by Loftus
on Amazon.com.
Imagine Uncle Fester of the Addams Family with a light bulb that glows spontaneously in his mouth. That's the magic.

01 April 2014

Candidates tournament 2013 in London was one of the most successful events of last year. With high interest, good organization, and large media coverage, it became the pillar of the first half of the year and was only surpassed in visitors by the World Championship in Chennai.
Candidates tournament 2014 is improving last year's London numbers and registering record breaking levels.

Around the same time, Europe Echecs (EE; April 2014, p.5) wrote [translating from the French],

Candidates - Siberian Vacuum

The previous tournament at London 2013 stirred up enthusiasm, including the playing area. It was crowded despite paid access. In Siberia the aisles were deserted. [...] In all sport an empty arena is not a sign of healthy media interest, except for FIDE. From which this key question of 600.000 Euros, the total of the prizes in play at Khanty-Mansiysk : the Candidates interest no one or, more precisely, the organizers from Siberia are invariably the highest bidder?